1. Field
The present invention relates to polymeric optical/electronic devices, such as light-emissive devices and photovoltaic or photodetecting devices, and to a method of producing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Polymeric optoelectronic devices typically comprise a layer of optoelectronically active polymer material provided between electrodes such that charge carriers may move between the electrodes and the optoelectronically active material. Light-emissive devices operate by charge carriers injected from the electrodes combining and decaying within the polymer material by a process that results in the emission of light. Photovoltaic devices operate by the creation of charge carrier pairs within the polymer material upon the incidence of light thereon, the separation of the carrier pairs and the migration of the charge carriers to the respective electrodes creating a potential between the electrodes. Photodetectors operate on the same basic principle as that of a photovoltaic device except that a current induced in an external circuit proportional to the intensity of the incident light is the desired output and often they are included in circuits where they are essentially shorted-circuited (electrode to electrode) or an external bias is applied across the device to increase the ‘detection efficiency’.
It is known to provide polymeric charge transport layers between the optoelectronically active layer and one or both of the electrodes to facilitate the movement of the charge carriers between the electrodes and the optoelectronically active material.